


Lance and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Week

by DeathByStorm



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: I Will Go Down With This Ship, Lance is good at flirting but not so good at feelings, Langst, M/M, Not My Shiro, Set sometime before season 3, Shiro/Keith but not really, the five stages of grief
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-01
Updated: 2018-02-01
Packaged: 2019-03-12 04:39:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,001
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13539867
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeathByStorm/pseuds/DeathByStorm
Summary: Lance finds out that Keith and Shiro are dating. He promptly goes through the five stages of grief.





	Lance and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Week

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks as always to the lovely Eilera for beta'ing this fic. And also for one of Lance's come ons to Keith.

-Denial-

It had been an exhausting battle, but one more planet had been freed from Galra tyranny. While Lance had once again not received the parade of his dreams, he was tired enough to be content to settle for a shower and a long uninterrupted sleep.

“Great job, Keith,” Shiro said. Lance turned to see Shiro clap a hand on Keith's shoulder. “The Ramari are free thanks to your quick thinking.”

“Thanks, Shiro,” Keith said with a smile. That damn smile that was always aimed at Shiro! Lance scowled and pulled his helmet off. He looked up just in time to see Shiro reach forward and pull Keith into a hug. Keith practically melted into Shiro's arms. The jealousy that was sitting in his chest sunk lower and began to churn in his stomach.

Of course Shiro and Keith were together. Lance felt the realization of it reach in and grab his lungs in a vice. He didn’t know why he hadn’t noticed sooner. Keith was only ever open around Shiro. He tended to shy away from the rest of them even when he looked like he wanted to reach out. 

Lance sighed and jammed his helmet under his arm. What did it matter if Keith and Shiro were together? It didn’t affect him, so why did it hurt? He decided to leave that particular thought for future Lance. After the battle that they’d had, he deserved some extra self care tonight. He made certain that Keith didn't cross his mind for the rest of the evening. 

-Anger-

Lance watched Shiro and Keith like a hawk as they sparred. Keith was knocked to the ground, overwhelmed by Shiro's superior strength. He lay there for a second with the black paladin’s glowing hand at his throat, before Shiro deactivated it and extended it to help Keith up.

“Excellent work, Keith. You've really improved,” Shiro said.

Lance stared a bit harder and there it was again. That smile that only Shiro got to see. Lance felt the anger start to boil in his veins- zap!

He fell down with all the grace of a sack of potatoes as his limbs turned to jello. He rolled over and groaned. “I would say that I'm falling for you, but freaking ow, Pidge! Did you have to?”

Pidge deactivated her bayard and raised an eyebrow. “Yes. Your pining is making me sick.” 

“Abuse! I wanna switch partners,” Lance yelped. “And I don't know what you're talking about.”

“You should know exactly what I'm talking about. Fine. I'll go fight with Hunk,” Pidge said. “Hunk! Time to swap in!” 

They had been doing paired sparring sessions and since Allura was not there, that meant that they were rotating as needed. Lance saw this as both awesome and crappy. Awesome because he got to take breaks and crappy because they had to train longer. 

"Sure, Pidge!" Hunk hopped off the bench and headed over to her. 

Shiro shrugged and wiped the sweat from his brow. He headed over to the bench by the break station. "I could use the break. Keith, you're with Lance."

“No fair! I wanted Hunk,” Lance whined.

"Sorry, man," Hunk said as he passed him. "She called dibs."

"Betrayal," Lance muttered. 

“Well, looks like you’re stuck with me,” Keith called over from his mat. “Ready to get your ass handed to you?”

“You wish,” Lance snapped.

What did Keith see in Shiro anyway? Okay, that was unfair. Shiro was amazing and Lance still occasionally felt a little bit of hero worship towards him. The better question was, what did Shiro see in Keith? Who'd want someone with that attitude and that awful 80's style mullet?

Keith raised his eyebrow. "Are you coming over here or what?"

Lance swallowed hard as he took the time to look Keith over. Keith’s shirt was soaked in sweat which made it stick more to him than usual. Lance tried swallowing again and eventually went over to the break station and grabbed a pouch of water to fix his dry mouth before heading over to where Keith was waiting. It only helped a little. 

“Ready?” Keith said. There was a smirk on his face as he raised his fists and moved into a fighting stance. 

“Absolutely,” Lance said. 

Lance threw himself forward and swung his arm. In the blink of an eye, Keith dodged and knocked him off of his feet. 

“Your centre of gravity is off. You need to bend your legs more,” Keith said. He hauled Lance to his feet. 

“I'll show you centre of gravity!” With a strangled war cry, he rushed Keith. He quickly found himself on the floor again. This time, Keith was on top of him. 

“Yield,” Keith said simply. 

Lance struggled and Keith grabbed his wrists and pinned them down. Keith shifted his weight forward a little so Lance had no choice but to lay there. He offered him a lazy smirk. “Gee Keith, I didn't know you liked it rough.” 

Keith was far too used to his antics to be deterred. “Yield.”

Lance shook his head and tried to shift his hips. Keith bore his weight down even more and Lance was suddenly aware of every point of contact between them. Normally, the training room was cold. Why was it suddenly so warm in here? Keith's touch felt like a brand and it was worst around his wrists. Apparently he was the one who liked it rough.

“I yield,” Lance said. And Keith must have seen the panic in his eyes because he released him immediately.

-Bargaining-

“I'd give up my bayard if it meant that Keith would be less annoying,” Lance and Hunk were baking cookies. Well, Lance was lying on the floor watching Hunk as he baked cookies. Same thing. 

Hunk hummed sympathetically as he pulled a tray of cookies out of the oven. “No, you wouldn't. You love being the sharpshooter too much.”

“Because I’m awesome at it! And yeah, you’re right. I'd give up my second favourite facial cleanser for him.”

“Yeah?”

“He needs it more than I do anyway.”

“There it is.”

Lance sighed and rolled over on to his side forcing Hunk to step around him.

“Do you mind?”

“No,” he said moodily. 

Hunk carefully set down the tray of cookies on the cooling rack. He crouched down beside Lance’s head and met his eyes. “Have you even asked either Keith or Shiro if they’re together?”

“What’s the point?” Lance curled up into a fetal position. “Have you seen them together? Keith never looks at me or anyone else like that.”

Hunk sighed. “I dunno, maybe it’s because you’re kind of a dick to him, Lance.”

Lance looked at him. “I am not! I treat him the same as everyone else.”

Hunk hauled himself to his feet using the counter as a support. He leaned forward, held his hand out to Lance and pulled him to his feet. 

“Just try being nicer, Lance. I know he at least wants to be friends with you.” Lance cheerfully ignored the exasperation in Hunk's tone. 

“Yeah yeah. Hey Hunk, are these cookies cool enough?”

Lance reached forward, the siren call of fresh baked goods stronger than the potential burned mouth he'd get from consuming them while they were still hot. Hunk busied himself with putting the dishes in the dishwasher.

“Yeah. They’re pretty experimental though. I was actually going to have you be my taste tester.” 

Lance lit up and pumped his fist in the air. “Yes! Hunk, you're awesome. You know that?”

Hunk gave him a smile. 

-Depression-

It had been a shitty day and seeing Keith during training had just made him feel even more down. Lance was in the need of some alone time. Even though the castle was huge, Lance's favourite place would always be Blue's cockpit. 

“Do you mind letting me in, girl? I need to think for a while.”

Ever obliging to her paladin, Blue crouched down and opened her mouth. Lance ran a hand along her jaw as he stepped inside.

“Stupid Keith,” Lance muttered. “Stupid Keith and his stupid eyes. He's not buff like Shiro. He doesn’t know the basics of socializing or hygiene. Why was he so popular at the Garrison?”  
Lance threw himself onto the pilot's chair and let his arms and legs dangle off of it.

There was a rush of fondness and then a prodding sensation in his mind. In an instant, he was flooded with memories of Keith. Keith giving him a soft smile, Keith sparring with him, Keith trying to help him to his feet and Lance blowing him off. Keith looking worn out, Keith when he fell asleep on the common room couch the week before. Lance's cheeks heated up and he drew his knees to his chest and looped his arms around them.

“I guess he has been more tired than usual lately. That guy never takes care of himself properly.”

There was another warm rush of affection though it was also tinged with exasperation. Lance felt Blue poke at his mind again and then suddenly it was as if he was seeing himself from Keith’s eyes. They were focused on him intensely while he shot at moving targets in the training room. They were staring at him across the breakfast table as he laughed with the others. And apparently Keith had been watching him closely the last time that they'd hung out together in the common room. He was sitting by Pidge listening as she explained something or another and they were both laughing. 

“I didn’t know you and Red were such gossips. He's with Shiro. No matter how cute he is- oh. Oh no.”

He liked Keith. He, Lance McClain liked Keith Kogane! His heart sank and his eyes began to burn. Of course he had to like the most unavailable person ever. Keith would never let him live this down. 

Blue's presence curled around him purring. He sat up and pressed the heels of his hands to his burning eyes in an attempt to stem the flood of tears. Blue purred louder in harmony with the ache in his chest. Lance brushed the tears away, but they just kept coming. He hated crying! It was terrible for his skin and always left him feeling worn out. Eventually the tears dried up except for the occasional hiccup. He wiped his eyes the best he could with his sleeve and slumped back in his seat. That was it. He was just going to sit in here until his feelings disappeared. 

Blue rumbled. Lance lifted his head from where it had been buried in his arms. “What is it, girl?” 

A window popped up on the screen showing Keith as he entered the hangar. There was a nudge at the back of his mind. “I don't really want to talk to him right now, Blue,” he said. 

There was a more insistent nudge at the back of his mind. She crouched down and opened her mouth. This time the nudge was so forceful, that he nearly fell from the chair. 

"Fine. I'll talk to him," Lance said. He reluctantly stepped out into the glare of the hangar lights.

“Hey Lance!” Keith said. “Hunk said that you might be here.”

“Hey Keith, what do you want?” Lance stuck his hands in his pockets in a desperate attempt to appear casual. 

Keith of course, completely missed the grumpy tone in his voice. “I heard you like flowers so-“

Keith thrust the flower in his hand nearly crushing it in the process because he was an awkward turtle like that. Lance spun it gently in his hand admiring the different shades of blue contained in the petals. He smiled. It was nice to know that even if Keith and him fought over everything that they were still friends. 

“Keith, I didn’t know you had it in you,” Lance said. He saw Keith blush out of the corner of his eye and smiled. He was going to keep this flower forever. Just looking at it warmed him down to his toes. He lifted it to his nose and inhaled only to have sharp teeth sink in to his flesh. 

“Argh!” Lance shrieked. “My face! My beautiful face!”

“Oh my god!” Keith yelped and together they helped pry the apparently flesh-eating flower off Lance’s nose. 

“You bid dat on burbose!” Lance sniffled holding his nose.

“No I didn’t. Jeez how much of a dick do you think I am?” Keith snapped. 

Despite his harsh tone, Keith's hands were gentle as he tilted Lance’s face down to take a good look at his nose. Lance had to stop himself from leaning into the touch. Keith’s hands smelled like leather and sweat which caused Lance to calm down a little.

“I don’t think it’s broken. Let’s get you to the infirmary. Coran can check you out.”

Keith put his arm around Lance’s shoulder and kept it there for the entire walk. Lance didn't shrug it off and simply enjoyed the warmth. 

-Acceptance – 

Lance took a deep breath and wiped away the condensation on the mirror. The public showers were large and had a bigger supply of hot water than the five minutes that they were forced to live with in their en-suite washrooms. 

He tightened the towel around his waist and gave the mirror one of his signature grins. Sure, he'd had a crummy week. He'd figured out that Shiro and Keith were dating and then discovered that he had a huge crush on Keith. It was okay. He just had to wait until the feelings disappeared. He leaned closer to the mirror and began checking over his skin for blemishes.

The door banged open behind him. Lance spun around and saw Keith storming towards him. Keith stopped in front of him and gave him a stare that even for him was intense. 

“You're going to tell me what's up with you right now,” Keith said. “You haven't been cracking jokes. You've just been moping around everywhere and avoiding me since the flower incident. What is up with you?”

Lance tried to go around him. “Why are you even here, Keith? Since when do you care?” 

“Since always?” Keith crossed his arms and turned away slightly. “Besides, Shiro sent me to find you. He seems to think that we need to talk.”

“Oh of course your boyfriend wanted you to find me,” Lance sneered right back. “I don't have anything I want to say to you.”

“Shiro's not my boyfriend, Lance. I'm not sure what gave you that idea,” Keith said. 

“Um the way that you look at him like he hung the moon?” Lance threw his hands up. “You look like that all the time while you're around him.”

“Shiro's like a brother to me. He's the only family I have. Of course I care about him,” Keith said

“Oh,” Lance said in a small voice. He looked away and rubbed his hand on the back of his neck. 

“Yeah,” Keith said. 

Lance took a deep breath and before he lost his nerve, blurted out, “I have something to tell you.” 

“What?” Keith said. 

“You have to promise not to make fun of me,” Lance couldn't believe that he was actually going to say this. His heart began to race like he was in the middle of battle instead of the middle of a conversation.

“Okay.”

“Okay what?” Lance said.  
“Okay, I promise I won't make fun of you,” Keith rolled his eyes. 

Lance took a couple of deep breaths in an attempt to calm himself down.

“Well?” 

“Give me a second, Keith. This is really hard for me,” Lance said. He tried desperately to think of a smooth way to confess. Keith didn't seem like the swooning type, but he may as well try. 

Keith sighed. “Fine. Take your time.”

“I like you,” Lance said. “A lot.” 

Mentally, he was pulling his hair out. Really? He had a line for every situation and that was all that he could come up with?

“So?” Keith said. “I don't hate you.”

Lance made a frustrated noise. “No of course you don't get it. I like you. Romantically.”

Keith went red and opened his mouth to reply. 

Lance bulldozed over him. “Don't worry. I know you don't feel the same way. I'm fine with just being friends.” 

Keith took a step forward. “Then why are you crying?”

“What?” Lance touched his cheek and it came away wet. “It's the heat from the shower. It always makes my eyes water. I've got to go.”

Keith stopped him. “Don't you want to hear my answer first?” 

“Honestly, that is a rejection I don't want to hear,” Lance said. “You don't have to say anything. I'll just go.”

He didn't even bother with his belongings and just darted around Keith. He could get them later. What was more important was not crying in front of Keith any more than he already had. Keith grabbed his wrist.

“What the- Keith!”

“Lance, listen to me,” Keith said. Frustration coloured his voice. “I like you too.” 

“Is this some kind of joke?” Lance said. “You hate me.”

“No, I don't,” Keith said. “I like you.”

“But-” Lance said. 

“No buts,” Keith said firmly. He reached forward and brushed some of the tears away. “Can I kiss you?”

“Um ye-mmff!“

Keith grabbed him by the shoulders and kissed him so suddenly that their teeth clacked together from the force of it. Lance yelped and jerked back forcing Keith to let go of him.  
“No, like this,” he said. He leaned forward and kissed Keith. The angle was much less awkward this time and as Keith's arms came up around him, he couldn't help but melt into the touch. He pulled back and watched Keith give him the same soft smile that Blue had shown him earlier. Lance felt warmed to his toes. It seemed that Keith did have a special way of looking at him after all.

**Author's Note:**

> Thoughts?
> 
> [Tumblr](https://www.deathbystorm.tumblr.com)


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